Motorized window shades are old and well known in the art. There are countless forms of motorized window shades. A number of entities manufacture various motorized window shades including applicant, QMotion Advanced Shading Systems, having an address of 3400 Copter Road, Pensacola, Fla. 32514, as well as others such as Lutron Electronics, Inc., having an address of 7200 Suter Road, Coopersburg, Pa. 18036-1299; HunterDouglas, having an address of 1 Blue Hill Plaza, Pearl River, N.Y. 10965; MechoSystems, having an address of 42-03 35th Street, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101; Somfy Systems, having an address of 121 Herrod Blvd, Dayton, N.J. 08810; Crestron, having an address of 15 Volvo Drive, Rockleigh, N.J. 07647, to name a few.
As will be further described herein, there are a number of common motorized window shade configurations. Broad categories of motorized window shade configurations include: roller shades, honeycomb shades, slat shades (also known as venetian shades), roman shades, drapery rods, and drapery tracks, to name a few. These motorized window shade configurations can be separated into laterally opening motorized window shades, where the shade material moves laterally from side-to-side to cover and uncover the window, and vertically opening motorized window shades, where the shade material is raised and lowered to cover and uncover the window.
Motorizing window shades provides a great number of substantial advantages such as convenience, energy efficiency, increased privacy, among countless others. By motorizing window shades this allows for remote operation of the window shade. Common forms of remote operation of motorized shades include use of a remote control or remote application or tying the motorized shade into a home automation system or alarm system.
Motorizing window shades allows a plurality of shades to be raised and lowered with ease thereby allowing for easy optimization of the use of natural light, optimization of privacy, and optimization of energy efficiency by letting warming light into the building when it is cold outside and preventing warming light from entering the building when it is warm outside. These benefits are particularly evident in large homes or commercial buildings that include a great number of windows and window shades. Motorizing these window shades allows for these motorized window shades to be precisely controlled, en masse, without the manual labor previously required to do so.
Providing the ability to remotely control a motorized window shade removes the requirement that an operator must be standing next to the window shade while it is operating. One complication caused by this is that when a motorized window shade is operated remotely, and there is no one around to observe the window shades operation, various issues can arise.
One issue that can arise during the unobserved operation of motorized window shades occurs when an obstruction is positioned in the path of vertically opening and closing motorized window shades. When an obstruction is present in the opening and closing path of a motorized window shade and the motorized window shade is operated, damage can occur to the components of the motorized window shade, to the shade material or to the obstructing objects or surrounding environment of the motorized window shade.
For vertically opening motorized window shades, it is relatively easy to detect when an obstruction is present that prevents the motorized window shade from being raised. This is because there is a substantial spike in current draw of the motor which may prevent the shade material from being raised. This occurs when something heavy is placed on the shade material or bottom bar, or when the bottom bar or shade material is pinched in a door, a window, or behind a piece of furniture, or the like. This substantial spike in current draw of the motor is easy to detect due to the great magnitude of the current spike and the rapidity at which it spikes and due to the fact that the obstruction often stops the shade material or bottom bar from being raised.
In contrast, when an obstruction is present in the closing path of a motorized window shade, it is relatively difficult or impossible to detect because the shade material or bottom bar is not stopped from deploying when the obstruction is encountered. In addition, very little energy is required to lower a motorized window shade, as opposed to raise the same motorized window shade and therefore there is no pronounced spike in the current draw when the obstruction is encountered. Complicating matters further, when an obstruction is present when closing a vertically operating motorized window shade and the bottom bar encounters the obstruction, the shade material continues to be paid out (e.g. unrolled from the roller shade, or lowered from the head rail for honeycomb, venetian and roman shades). That is, when an obstruction is present when the shade material is lowered, there is nothing stopping the motorized shade from continuing to lower the shade material and the bottom bar (this is opposed to when an obstruction is present in the opening direction as the obstruction has the tendency to prevent raising of the bottom bar and shade material).
Continuing to deploy shade material after an obstruction has been encountered has the potential to cause substantial damage. As an example, as the shade material lowers, it can billow, fold and drape over the obstruction. This can cause damage to the shade material, such as fold lines, wrinkles, lines or wear marks and soiling, to name a few. This can also cause damage to the object that is causing the obstruction, such as tipping over the vase filled with water and flowers, knocking over pictures or other objects, and the like. This can also cause damage to the surrounding environment, such as spilling water on the floor, knocking heavy objects onto the floor thereby causing damage to the floor, and the like.
Due to the complexities of detecting an obstruction upon closing of vertically opening and closing motorized window shades, there is presently no solution preventing the shade material from being completely paid out after an obstruction is engaged when closing the shade material.
Thus, an object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that improves upon the present state of the art.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that protects the shade material.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that improves safety.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that prevents damage to the environment surrounding the motorized window shades.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that improves the use of motorized window shades.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that extends the useful life of motorized window shades.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that is easy to use.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that is safe to use.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that is inexpensive.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that improves the functionality of motorized window shades.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that is convenient to use.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that is easy to install.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that does not require additional exterior parts.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that is energy efficient.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that has a simple design.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that has a minimum number of parts.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that has a rugged design.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that is relatively foolproof.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that is sensitive.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that has an intuitive design.
Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that can be connected to a security system or home automation system.
Another object of the disclosure is to provide an obstruction detection system for motorized window shades that can be utilized in two-way communication to report an obstruction.
These and countless other objects, features, or advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from the specification and claims.